NO experience with either GURPS or play-by-post roleplaying is necessary. Some grounding in fantasy novels and/or movies is helpful, but not required. =)

Your character can die, typically from poor choices. The tone is more low fantasy, as realistic as a world can be with gnomes and magic.

Posting rate: I'd like to have 2-5 posts per week from players. Please, avoid posting one-liners. Although you needn't post a novel, shoot for at least a paragraph, if not more. Better writing will be rewarded with more CPs and the Gamemaster looking upon you more favorably in combat. =)

I'm looking for players who are creative and imaginative. Reactive is fine, but it would be even better to be proactive.

If this game goes well, we can play through some more adventures using your characters.

If you're interested in playing: PM me with your character idea, or post it here, and we can build it together. If you're comfortable with GURPS rules already, you can go ahead and build the character, but if not, I can help you.

About me: I've been playing RPGs for more than 15 years, starting with AD&D 2nd edition, and I GM GURPS games regularly on another site.

GURPS stands for Generic Universal Role Playing System, and as such is incredibly versatile. The same rules set can be used to play traditional hack-and-slash swords and sorcery games, far-future space operas, or modern-day horror/mystery/capes scenarios. If you can imagine a game, GURPS can probably handle it.

The mechanics of GURPS are pretty simple. Whenever you want to try something dangerous or something that would lead to something beneficial, you’ll roll three six-sided dice. For skill checks and attribute checks, the goal is to roll at or under your skill/attribute level after bonuses/penalties.

A 3 or a 4 is always a critical success, with something particularly good happening as a result (you do double damage, or the person you’re interrogating gives up his boss, or you end up making a fat profit on your business deal). A 5 is a success if the skill level is 15+. A 6 is a critical success if your skill level is 16+. Likewise, an 18 is always a critical failure, and something especially bad will happen (your sword breaks, you slip and fall, the person you’re trying to con sees through your lies and calls the cops). A roll of 17 is a critical failure is 15 or less; otherwise, it is an ordinary failure. Any roll that is 10 greater than your effective skill is a critical failure, as well.

For instance, say you’re being chased by a gang of thugs, and you turn the corner and see a fire escape. If you want to jump up to grab the ladder, I might ask you to make a Jump roll to reach the ladder and an ST roll to pull yourself up. If you have plenty of time, I might give you a bonus to make the Jump roll. If the thugs are shooting at you, though, and the ground is icy slick from a freeze, you’d have a penalty to succeed on the Jump.

A normal human has 10s in the four main attributes, Strength (ST), Dexterity (DX), Intelligence (IQ), and Health (HT). Strength determines how hard you hit, how much you carry, your Hit Ponits, and a few skills. Dexterity affects many things, including most physical skills and your Speed, Move, and Dodge. IQ also affects many things, including most mental skills, spells, Will, and Perception. HT indicates how fast your body recovers from injury, how resistant it is to poison and illness, your Fatigue Points (which power spells, special moves in combat, and other things), Speed and Move, and a few skills.

Most humans have skills ranging from 8 to 13. Exceptional individuals (like Adventurers!) may have higher skills. Skill-8 means you succeed 25.9% of the time. With Skill-10, you succeed at something 50% of the time. Skill 14 means you succeed 90.7% of the time. A normal person might have Driving-10, but driving in routine traffic would have a +4 or more bonus, giving you at least Skill-14 (and someone wouldn’t need to roll to drive to work everyday).

Combat is run as a series of rounds with each participant getting one action in each round. One round is one second. Order of action is determined by Basic Speed, which is DX+HT/4, and can be bought up or down by 0.25 for 5 points. For instance someone with 12 DX and 12 HT would have a Basic Speed of 6.00.

Free actions (don’t take up your turn): Talk, drop an item, crouch

MANEUVERS

Move--move up to your full Move score (affected by encumbrance). If you run forward for 2 or more consecutive turns, you may add 1 hex to your move. Movement: See above. Defense: Any

Change Posture--This maneuver lets you switch between any two “postures”. Valid postures are standing, sitting, kneeling, crawling, lying prone (face down), and lying face up. Any posture other than standing slows your movement and penalizes your attack and defense rolls, but also makes you a smaller target for ranged attacks. To go from lying down to kneeling requires this maneuver. You may then stand as the ‘step’ portion of any “Step and” maneuver, so you may attack on the same round that you go from kneeling to standing. However, you may not move while rising from a kneeling position.Movement: See above. Defense: Any

Aim--gives a bonus to hit with a ranged weapon. May Aim for consecutive turns to gain a cumulative bonus.Movement: Step. Defense: Any, but you automatically spoil your aim and lose all accumulated benefits. If you are injured while aiming, you must make a Will roll or lose your aim.

Evaluate--this is the melee equivalent of Aim. You must be able to reach a foe with a Move and Attack maneuver to Evaluate him. You may Evaluate for up to three turns for a cumulate +3 bonus to hit.Movement: Step. Defense: Any. This does not spoil your evaluation.

Attack--One attack, one defense.Movement: Step. Defense: Any

Feint--Roll a contest of weapon skills with your foe. Your opponent may roll against weapon, cloak, shield, unarmed skill or DX, whichever is highest so long as he is suitably equipped. If you win, you lower his defense by that much. The feint is good for 1 round. Your allies may not take advantage of your feint.Movement: Step. Defense: Any

All out Attack--No defense whatsoever. You may choose from four options: +4 to hit, +2 damage, 2 attacks, or Feint and Attack. If using a Ranged weapon you have one option: +1 to hitMovement: You may move up to half your move, but only forward. Defense: None

Move and Attack--move your full Move score and attack during any point of your move. If you are using a Ranged weapon you are at –2 or the Bulk penalty and you loose all previous Aim bonuses. If you are using a melee attack other than a Slam, you attack at –4 with a maximum skill of 9.Movement: Full Move, but you are -2 on any rolls the GM requires to avoid falling, tripping over obstacles, etc.. Defense: Dodge or block only. You cannot parry and you may not Retreat.

All out Defense--There are 2 options: Add +2 to one active defense of your choice: Dodge, Parry, or Block. This bonus persists until your next turn. Or you may use 2 defenses against the same attack. For example, you may try to Block and Parry the same attack.Movement: If you choose Increased Dodge, you may move up to half your Move. Otherwise, the only movement you may take is a step. Defense: Any

Concentrate--You concentrate on one primarily mental task (even it has a minor physical component, like operating controls, gesturing, or speaking). This may be casting a magical spell, using a psi ability, making a Sense roll to spot an invisible warrior, making a Leadership roll to give orders, making an Electronics Operation roll to operate a sensor, or any similar action, including most IQ-based skill rolls. This is a full-turn maneuver.Movement: Step. Defense: Any

Ready--Full turn maneuver that allows you to ready a weapon, open a door, pull a lever, etc.Movement: Step. Defense: Any

Wait--Do nothing unless a particular event you specified in advance occurs before your next turn; a foe moves into range. If that happens, you may transform your Wait into an Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack (you must specify the option before acting), or Ready maneuver.Movement: Per whatever action you chose. Defense: Per whatever action you chose.

Defenses

There are 3 defenses to choose from: Dodge, Parry and Block. Dodge is using your body to bend or twist out of the way. Parry is the use of a weapon, hand or foot to knock an attack away. Block is the use of any shield.

Retreating Defenses -- you may enhance your defense by retreating, in which you move back 1 hex. A Retreating Parry or Block adds +1 to your Defense while a Retreating Dodge adds +3.

Feverish Defenses -- By spending 1 FP you add +2 to any defense

Acrobatics -- A successful use of this skill gives +2 to Dodge, while a failed roll gives –2.

Shields are a mixed bag. They can get you a high defense with few points spent, their downfall is that they are heavy and a hindrance in close combat.

The above effects are cumulative – so that a Retreating Acrobatic Feverish Dodge is good for +7 to defense. Remember also that encumbrance and fatigue reduce your Dodge, where they don’t affect Parry or Block.

OTHER OPTIONS

Flurry of Blows -- (1 fatigue/attack) to reduce the penalty on Rapid Strikes to -3

This game takes place in Yrth, a fantasy world dominated by an event called the Banestorm, which was intended by the Elves to destroy the Orcs but which instead sucked races from many different worlds and deposited them in Yrth, including humans from our Earth. From time to time, the Banestorm brings in a new pocket of individuals to Yrth.

The original inhabitants of Yrth were elves, dwarves, and orcs, but now most fantasy races can be found there, including trolls, gnomes, halflings, ogres, lizardmen, minotaurs, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, centaurs, giants, shark men, merfolk, and dragons, although some of these are a bit different from their traditional representations. Goblins, for instance, are mostly law-abiding, upstanding Megalan citizens with a love of magic and mercantilism.

The time is roughly the same as our world, but on Yrth, technology has been held back by force. Our game takes place on the continent of Ytarria. The Catholic church has dominated Megalos, the most powerful country for centuries, although its power is waning, and the Megalan Empire banned both Protestantism and gunpowder. Many freshly arrived Protestants fled to nearby Cardiel, a country where people of all faiths may mix freely, or Caithness, a kingdom to the west. All three kingdoms still practice feudalism. Three Muslim nations exist in the south, al-Haz, al-Wazif, and al-Kard, preserving their culture and creating libraries and universities as repositories of knowledge. In the north, Celts and Scandinavians have settled, and to the west, Asians and North Americans formed a land called Sahud. It is not uncommon to discover a pocket of Bavarian villagers or a Zulu tribe in some secluded area of the continent.

Magic in Yrth

Gate spells are unreliable and incredibly rare. Necromantic spells are outlawed in most areas. Many spells having to do with time are completely unknown.

Some religions and spirits grant spell-like abilities, like True Faith and Faith Healing.

Notable mystic schools include the An’Fo’Tama Buddhists, the Christian Friedrichites, and the Sufi order of Julnari dervishes.

The Ytarrian Christian Church and Sunni Islam both teach that white magic is allowed by God. Shi'ite Islam, on the other hand, says such magic is sinful but may be forgiven. Certain religious sects teach that magic is evil, but other sects teach that it is a blessing from God.

Priests who are also wizards are expected to teach others, and often know healing and Food College spells. They frequently know Banish as well.

Characters will be built on 150 points50 points for Disadvantages5 points for QuirksNo Sahudese or Cultural Familiary (Sahud)TL 3 (all starting money ($1000) may be spent on starting gear)Max Magery 3 for beginning charactersPriestly magic will be as described in the Basic Set - Characters.Banestorm races will be used.All characters start with one language known at Native both spoken and written proficiency for free.

Physical Description:

Provide a physical description of your character, including age, gender, race, height, weight, eye color, hair color and style, body type, and any other physically defining characteristics. What makes your character look different from other members of his or her race?

Background:

Where are you coming from? Where are you going?What are two or three defining moments in your character's life? What motivates your character to go on adventures?

Character Improvement

Stats can be improved at 1x character creation cost.

Learned advantages, such as Combat Reflexes and Trained by a Master, are available after character creation, but most inherent advantages cannot be bought. Levels of existing advantages can be improved at the normal rate.

Skills may be improved at normal cost with a logical explanation.

New skills may be added if an attempt to use them was made during an adventure or a trainer can be found for the skill.

Last edited by macbone on Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

Dwarves are short, stocky humanoids who mostly live underground, mining precious minerals, keeping secrets, and holding grudges. Dwarves blame elves for the Banestorm (whether or not the elves actually had anything to do with it is irrelevant - they should have prevented it). Dwarves and Megalos have clashed in the past regarding territory, and are rivals of dragons for wealth and treasure. Millenia of dwarves fighting orcs have made the two races bitter enemies.

Dwarves are generally 1 1/2 feet shorter than humans of the same ST and 50 lbs. heavier. Their primary racial enemies are orcs, dragons, or Megalons. Their 1 point in Signature Gear represents a treasured item, usually hand-crafted by the dwarf. Many dwarves do not have Greed or Miserliness. Some have Phobia (Open Spaces), Night Vision, or extra levels of Signature Gear.

Physically, gnomes resemble dwarves, but whereas the dwarves prefer their subterranean halls, gnomes prefer the open countryside, often living as farmers and shepherds. Gnomes can be found in human settlements, as well. Lacking any real organized political structure, gnomes generally adapt to whatever culture they find themselves living in. They get along well with dwarves and the other non-monster races.

Gnomes are 1 1/4 feet shorter than humans of the same ST, and weigh 25 lbs. more. Other common advantages for gnomes include Artificer, Sensitive, Smooth Operator, Versatile, or Social Regard(Good Neighbor) 2.

Long-lived, slender, and physically attractive, elves were once the rulers of Yttaria, long before even the Banestorm. Once builders of great cities millenia ago, most elves now live deep in the forests in communities of fifty to one hundred individuals. Some elves mingle freely with humans, however, living in human settlements and marrying humans.

Protectors and cultivators of the forest, they grow many useful plants, such as fayflax, whose fibers can be woven into paper and cloth. Each community is loosely ruled by a council of elders.

Before the Banestorm, the elven race was ruled by a High Council of 33 elders, but if such a council still exists, the elves aren't saying. Although elves lack little political clout, most human rulers with elven subjects have at least one trusted elven adviser.

Most elves treat other humanoids without prejudice, but a rift remains between them and the dwarfs, and few elves can tolerate orcs.

Elves possess the same facial complexion hues as humans do. Their hair is usually gold, silver, black, or red, and their eyes are usually gold, green, or blue. Many elves have Intolerance (Orcs), Animal Empathy, Perfect Balance, Plant Empathy, more levels of Magery, or a wider Sense of Duty.

Half-elves are the result of the union of elves and humans, and as such have some characteristics of both races. Never common, half-elves can be found where humans and elves settle. They are welcomed by elves and most other races, other than the dark elves.

Although a monster race, orcs have lived on Ytarria for as long as dwarves and elves, and are thus accounted among the Elder Folk. They are short, hairy humanoids with enlarged canines. Most other races consider them filthy, stupid brutes, and usually, they're right. Humans are orcs' greatest rivals, being the only race on Ytarria that can match orcs for aggressiveness, tenacity, and constant breeding. Orcs share bitter feuds with dwarves and elves, although renegade dwarves often become orc warband leaders.

Some orcs have adapted to human civilization, serving in such occupations as servants, herders, and woodsman. Civilized orcs are generally viewed with suspicion by other orcs until they prove themselves; barbarian orcs are distrusted by everyone, even other orcs.

Half-orcs result from the nonconsenual union of humans and orcs. Looked down on by humans, they nevertheless can pass for husky, unattractive humans, and the stronger half-orcs often find places for themselves among orc tribes.

Bigger, meaner, and uglier than their orcish cousins, ogres can nevertheless be found in human settlements, often working in menial jobs such as servants and slaves. Ogres are even more stupid than orcs, and are generally trusted with only the most basic tasks. Most live among orc tribes, serving as shock troops and laborers, but some solitary ogres have made homes for themselves in the wild.

Some ogres are smarter and more social, and a few frown on eating sapient flesh. A tiny portion of ogres are much smarter than normal, and, instead of Magic Resistance, have Magery. For an ogre's height, take the ST before the +10 racial bonus and increase it by 60%. Average weight is five times a human's (pre-modifier) ST.

Newcomers

Humans

Humans are by far the most numerous race in Ytarria. Most are Christian and Megalan, but their race is known most of all for its diversity.

One of the most common races in Ytarria, goblins are short, green humanoids. After they arrived via the Banestorm, they quickly established the Goblin Kingdoms, but now they have been absorbed by Megalos and are good Imperial Christians. In other parts of Ytarria, they follow Islam or pagan religions.

Within the empire, goblins possess significant political and economic clout, being bright, extroverted, numerous, and often magically gifted. They generally get along well with other races in Ytarria. They adapt themselves to whatever culture they live in, and identify themselves by where they live first, and their race second.

Their height is normal for their ST, but their weight is 10 lbs. less. Many goblins have "Interested in magic and mages," or the Talents of Business Acumen or Smooth Operator. Successful gnome merchants do not have Impulsiveness.

Hobgoblins are larger, dumber versions of goblins. Some live in goblin society as servants, and others live in the wild as hunter-gatherers, attacking those who are smaller and weaker than they.

Many hobgoblins are Poor or worse, and Miserliness is rare. Other mental disadvantages are common, including Intolerance. However, some hobgoblins have higher IQ and lack Stubbornness or Bad Temper and may rise to positions of prominence within their warband.

Some centaurs are much wiser than others, often having IQ of 13 or higher. These centaurs are called sages, and are usually experts in at least one field of knowledge. Almost all centaur wizards are sages.

Centaurs are human from the waist up and equine from the waist down, with four legs. Lovers of freedom, they often live in plains and grasslands near elven forests and get along with their elven neighbors. Most are wanderers, but some are well-versed sages, and some have advised kings and rulers. Nomadic, centaurs are only rarely found in Yrth.

Most halflings come no higher than three feet tall. They are typically 1 1/2 feet shorter than humans of comparable ST, although they have normal weight. Halflings almost never wear beards.

Halfling settlements can be found throughout human lands. As a people, they are generally peaceful and laid-back, but they make stout warriors. Halflings get along well with most races, especially civilized folk.

Many halflings have an Addiction to Tobacco, and some have Alcoholism. Some have Xenophobia instead of Chummy and Staid, and many have higher levels of Silence.

Bull from the waist up, human-like from the waist down, minotaurs are carnivorous, solitary, and aggressive, and are considered dangerous monsters by most races. Although most live in the wilds, some live in human cities, working as guards, mercs, gladiators, entertainers, or other occupations.

Their weapons of choice are large axes or club-like branches, and they rarely wear armor. They stand 3" taller than humans of similar ST, with corresponding weight. Minotaurs found in civilized lands typically lack Loner, Intolerance, and the desire to feast on intelligent creatures' flesh, although Berserk and Bloodlust seem to be inherent. Some minotaurs possess high levels of Magic Resistance, and minotaur mages are entirely unknown.

Originally Posted by Kromm (Dr. Sean Punch, the GURPS line editor) @ forums.sjgames.com

Relying on defaults -- whatever the game system calls them -- is rarely fun. In GURPS, I hint that certain skills are necessary for adventurers, true action heroes or not, to keep the story flowing without annoying breaks caused by PCs being incompetent at tasks that adventure fiction commonly treats as "everyman" skills:

Carousing, Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, or Interrogation -- Eventually, everybody wants to interrogate NPCs. I'm generous about what skills work, but some skill is required.

Climbing, Hiking, and Stealth -- The party is only as good at these things as its worst party member, and nearly every party has to move around as a unit at some point.

Driving or Riding -- Travel is vital to adventure, and while "every hero can drive/ride a horse" is often assumed, it isn't automatic in games that have skills for these things.

First Aid -- Effective bandaging isn't an unskilled activity, AD&D notwithstanding. Non-action heroes often want to do this to "contribute" to party combat effectiveness, so they especially need this skill.

Gesture -- Sooner or later, communication without making a sound will be vital to almost any party's survival.

Observation, Scrounging, or Search -- Noticing interesting things takes training, and finding clues and useful items is so central to adventures that no PC should lack at least basic training here.

Savoir-Faire or Streetwise -- Everybody came from somewhere. It's passing annoying when a player just assumes that her PC would "get on with folks in her element" without having any practical social skills to back up the assumption.

I further suggest -- strongly -- that action heroes have this list as well:

Axe/Mace, Broadsword, Knife, Shortsword, or Staff -- Wielding a stick, knife, or heavy tool to any real effect requires practice. These common improvised weapons are not idiot-proof, trivial, or safe to use without training.

Holdout -- "Concealable" equipment only works if you have skill at concealment, and frustratingly few players realize this.

Judo, Sumo Wrestling, or Wrestling -- The number of people who think they should be able to grab others automatically is astounding. In fact, this is a difficult feat, trickier than hitting people, and absolutely requires training.

Throwing -- Whether you're tossing spare magazines to friends or grenades at enemies, this is a trained skill, so it pays to know it.

I think that players would be far less unhappy about surprises if more GMs made lists like this and did everything possible to get players to take them seriously. A PC with Brawling, Fast-Talk, Forced Entry, Holdout, Knife, Scrounging, Stealth, and Wrestling should be able to make and conceal a shiv, overpower a guard, steal his clothes, sneak away from the scene, talk his way past the other guards, and leave through an inadequately bolted back door.

Last edited by macbone on Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

macbone wrote:For dice rolls, I'll often make the dice rolls for you, especially in combat to speed things along, but when you need to make a diceroll, you can use Invisible Castle: http://invisiblecastle.com/

Is it ok if I just use my dice instead of that site (I've got pretty much every one made...)? I'll be honest.

Excellent startup, dude! I'm definitely in. I'll take a look at my character thoughts when I get home from work.

(Mordag's Little Finger sounds like a weird porno...or maybe I just have a dirty mind.)

...I prefer a man who will burn the flag and then wrap himself in the Constitution to a man who will burn the Constitution and then wrap himself in the flag.

Hi, I like this idea! Maybe you could give us an example of how an acceptable post would look like.

I will try my best at making a profile with the information that I understood.

*Gillipig stops writing and the character takes over*

I am a dwarf! And a proud one at that. Which goes to say a lot, as we all are rather proud.You're not likely to impress me. Unless you have in your possesion something valuable. But if you do, you'd be wise not to show it to me. Nothing scares me! I've lived too long and seen too much. I've learned not to underestimate my own abilities! Although you may say it's in my blood. I value Curage and Strength ahead of any other abilities. I'm as headstrong as an ox!Actually I once gave an ox a mighty concussion using only my own head. But don't misstake me for a brute. I'm as clever as an Elf! Actually, I'm quite a lot smarter than an Elf! Those damn Elves, they think they're so smart! Hah, no Elf has ever outsmarted me!!

-Eiykur the Hammerstrong

Description of Eiykur: (Gillipig's comments)

Hair: I have thick long red hair along with a matching but even thicker and longer beard and mustache.Height: I'm 5 feet tall. (very tall for his race)Weight: 300 pounds of pure strength! (Along with some fat. Especially around the midsection.)Age: 120 years young. (old)Eyes: They are brown.Build: I'm stocky! (he is)Scars: I have too many to count, but only one on my face. On the right side, lower jaw. Some Goblin got in a lucky hit. I still gutted him though!Habits: I drink a lot of mead. Like all dwarfs. It helps me get rattled up for battle!

Eiykur's history:He grew up in a mining society deep underground collectively called "Hammercleft". It's one of the largest dwarven societies in Yrth. Not one of the oldest, the ore mine is relatively young and the society prospers to this day. At the age of ten he had his first experience of battle. He bested an Orc who had strayed too far into the dwarven mine camp in a fist fight. The fight lasted roughly two seconds. Eiykur caved the Orc's skull in with a might blow straight away.

The following thirty years he alternated digging in the mines and helping the others clear out Orc hideouts around the dwarven mines, with the occasional drunken fist fight with his fellow dwarves. Life was good and he enjoyed much respect amongs the other dwarves. Then one day while mining, he fell down a small hole. (well he still got through it so it couldn't have been that small really.)He fell for several minutes, deep down to the lowest regions of Yrth. Where he finally felt ground under his feet. He had stumbled upon an ancient Dragon nest. Burried deep under ground, connected to a hidden and previously unknown path to the surface. As he stumbled around the dark and inhospitable hall of the Dragon Dor (get the CC connection please ) the hall all of a sudden lit up, by a thousand torches. Eiykur started postulating what had caused this event, but stopped when he laid his eyes upon the enormous pile of gold and treasure that was now visible. Delirious he screamed out his joy. Not thinking twice what that might do. He ran towards the gold pile, threw his pickaxe to the ground and let the gold coins run through his fingers. -This is magnificent! he said out loud. Suddenly he heard a deep growling behind him that could only come from one creature. He slowly turned around and not more than fifteen meters in front of him there stood a Dragon, on it's feet ready to toast him with it's breath. Eiykur jumped to the side and grabbed his pickaxe. The dragon's flame missed him entirely and he managed to disappear from the dragons sight.While the dragon searched for his whereabouts, Eiykur climbed onto it's back, and whacked the pickaxe straight into it's left eyeball. In terrible pain the dragon reacted instinctively and flew upwards. It continued flying up into the large tunnel that leads to the surface. Eiykur held on for dear life with the pickaxe still solidly burrowed in the dragons eye socket. Until finally it reached the surface. Eyikur threw himself off the dragon and ran as fast as he could (which was not very fast), but the dragon did not pursue him. It had had enough of Dwarves for now.

When Eiykur told his amazing story to the rest of the dwarven community, they did not believe him. Eiykur was not known for lying but it sounded a bit too unrealistic to be true. Especially since many had seen him going to mines drunk that day. They claimed he had dreamt it. No one would dare to suggest he was lying as that would be a sure death sentence. (his abilities in battle was well known)Furious with his fellow dwarves he left the Hammercleft mine that day and has not returned since. The times are many, when he's wished he could set eyes upon the halls of Hammercleft again. But his sense of pride was too strong, and he had heard rumors of that he's become a bit of a running joke there as of lately. Since that day he's been wandering the lower regions of Yrth looking for adventures. He's found many so far, but a Dwarf is not easily satified.

Attributes ( How does this work? How many points do I have to spend?)ST 20DX 3IQ 10HT 15

Cool, awesome, Gillipig! Would you like me to help you create a character?

Here's a sample post:

Jason Underwood holds out his crossbow, aiming the bolt squarely at the chest of the half-orc thug. “You’ve got some nerve, coming around here and poking your ugly snout where it doesn’t belong,” he says, his finger on the trigger. Damn, these clowns had to show up today of all days! And just about the time Underwood is expecting his private shipment of supplies from the East.

Jason glares at the trio of street punks. “Now, I suggest you and your group of thugs hightail it out of here before I decide to use the lot of you for target practice.”

The first part of the post is the in-character (IC) part. It doesn’t have to be too long, but the more you give me, the more I have to work with. You can describe any actions your character does, anything he or she says, and thoughts, too (but not things like “Jason really hopes that Mongo backs him up and pulls out his axe” – something like that ought to be In dialogue.

IC posts can be however long you’d like. A good rule of thumb is long enough to cover everything, but short enough to still be interesting.

The Out of Character (OOC) line is to describe mechanically what you’re doing, using an attack, or stepping back, or trying to flank an opponent.

Put Defenses, extra notes, and dice rolls in the Spoiler part. If you use Invisible Castle, you can just paste the link the dice roller gives you there.

You can use color, too, if you’d like. It’s ok to color the dialogue to make it stand out or color the OOC lines to differentiate them from the rest of the post. You can use italics for thoughts if you want.

Score DescriptionLess than 6 Crippling. An attribute this low severely limits your lifestyle.7 Poor. Your limitations are immediately obvious to anyone who meets you. 8 or 9 Below average. Such scores are limiting, but within human norms.10 Average.11 or 12 Above average. These scores are superior, but still within human norms.13 or 14 Exceptional. These attributes are immediately obvious to anyone who meets you.15+ Amazing. An attribute this high draws constant comment and probably guides your life decisions.

Note, the above is for humans. For non-humans, use the racial template to determine what is considered average.

Fatigue Points (FP) - represents your body's energy supply. You lose FP when you go without eating or sleeping, hike for long distances, and use special attacks and spells. Mages should buy extra FP. Equal to HT, +3/additional level.

Basic Speed - measures your basic reflexes and physical quickness. Add HT+DX, and then divide by 4 (do not round off - 5.25 is faster than 5.0). Can be increased at 5 CP/+0.25, or reduced in a like manner.

Basic Move - measure your ground speed in yards per second without encumbrance. Equal to Basic Move (without the fraction). Can be increased by 5 CP/yard/second or reduced in a like manner.

Language: Each character receives their own language for free. Other languages and levels in a language can be bought individually.

Advantages - a useful trait that gives you a mental, physical, or social edge. Useful advantages for fighters include Combat Reflexes and High Pain Threshold. Useful advantages for mages include Magery. Useful advantages for priests include True Faith and Power Investiture. Useful advantages for Thieves include High Manual Dexterity. For anyone, Talents and Luck can be very useful.

Quirks - 1-point mental or physical disadvantages that give specific, minor penalties. This can be anything you'd like, as long as it could inconvenience you at some point. You should take all five quirks, and if you want to assign them after you begin playing, that's ok. Just put "Quirk 1 - TBD" or something like that.

Mental Quirks include Attentive (focusing on the task at hand but ignoring your surroundings), Broad-Minded (quirk level form of Xenophilia), Careful, Chauvinistic, a minor Code of Honor, a minor Delusion, Dislikes, Habits or Expressions, Imaginative, Likes, Minor Addiction, Nosy, Obsession, Proud, a minor Trademark, or a minor Vow. (Note, many of these are 1-point versions of a Disadvantage).

These are a particular kind of knowledge. Examples include Broadsword, Diplomacy, Lockpicking, and the Zombie spell.

You'll start with some, and you can improve them as you play and add others to your skill list.

Skills are tied to a particular attribute. For instance, Fast-Talk is an IQ/A (average) skill. If a character has IQ 10, it costs 1 CP to buy Fast-Talk at skill level-1, 2 CPs to buy Fast Talk at skill level, 4 CPs to buy Fast-Talk at skill level+1, and +4 CPs for every skill level past that.

So to improve the skill, pay the difference in CP cost. If you start with Fast-talk at IQ-1, you only need to pay 1 more CP to improve it one level, then 2 CPs for IQ+1, then 4 CPs for every level after that.

The higher your starting IQ, the easier it is to get a higher level in the skills it controls. For an IQ 15 wizard, she would only need to pay 1 CP to buy Fast-Talk at level 14. For an IQ 10 bouncer, he'd need to spend 16 CPs (!) to buy Fast-Talk up to level 14.

Note: It's usually better to have several higher skills than many Skill-9 and Skill-10 scores. Your primary weapon score should probably be 13+, along with any skills you'd want to use professionally.

Techniques

Techniques are based off of existing skills and let you pay off the penalty for a specific move. For instance, if you want to use Elbow Strike, normally you'd use Brawling or Karate at a -2 penalty. Buying the Technique Elbow Strike lets you buy off this penalty.

Magic

If you want to your character to be able to use spells, see me for more information.

macbone wrote:A character begins with all 10s in attributes, which may be raised or lowered during character creation and according to templates.For non-humans, use the racial template to determine what is considered average.

When I bring up GCS, it defaults to human and I can't seem to figure out how to bring up a template for one of the other races. Help?

...I prefer a man who will burn the flag and then wrap himself in the Constitution to a man who will burn the Constitution and then wrap himself in the flag.

I'd really like for this to take off. But it's vastly more complicated (which is partly why it sounds so fun) than the other games in this forum. Show us an end product of character creation, and it will be much easier to understand what we're supposed to do. Myabe just copy and paste one of the characters you've created in the past?

AoG for President of the World!!I promise he will put George W. Bush to shame!

macbone wrote:A character begins with all 10s in attributes, which may be raised or lowered during character creation and according to templates.For non-humans, use the racial template to determine what is considered average.

When I bring up GCS, it defaults to human and I can't seem to figure out how to bring up a template for one of the other races. Help?

Pen and paper. That's what I ended up using.

saxitoxin wrote:Your position is more complex than the federal tax code. As soon as I think I understand it, I find another index of cross-references, exceptions and amendments I have to apply.

macbone wrote:A character begins with all 10s in attributes, which may be raised or lowered during character creation and according to templates.For non-humans, use the racial template to determine what is considered average.

When I bring up GCS, it defaults to human and I can't seem to figure out how to bring up a template for one of the other races. Help?

/ - It depends on the game speed, to be honest. If we're all posting pretty quickly, we can finish this adventure in 6 months, but if we're slower, it could be a year.

However, if you need to take a vacation, I can run your character for you until you come back.

Yeah, Woodruff, GCS isn't as robust as the official character generator. There's an official program called the GURPS Character Assistant that I use, but it's not free, and I didn't want to suggest you guys buy something for one game.

Here's a page with further GCS resources, including templates, but unfortunately, it doesn't have races, just classes.

Here are three sample characters. The first sheet has a pretty sweet template, if you want to modify it for your use. These characters were created for a 100-pt Banestorm game, and you guys will have more points to spend.

Name: Cormac the BlackPlayer: Race: Half-OrcHt: 6'Wt: 200 lbsAge:20Appearance: A surly, grizzled warrior, his skin is dusky and yellow like sand,his hair is black and unruly. Several scars mar his features, most prominently crossing his mouth. He has dark, blue almost black eyes. He possesses an athletic and broad shouldered build. His arms are long and somewhat ape-like.

Reaction Modifiers:Appearance:Status: +2 (Includes; +2 from 'Status')Other:+0Conditional: -2 from 'Social Stigma (Minority Group)',+1 from 'Reputation Cormac the Black)',+2 from 'Overconfidence' with young or naive NPCs,-2 from 'Overconfidence' with Experienced NPCs,

I am a dwarf! And a proud one at that. Which goes to say a lot, as we all are rather proud.You're not likely to impress me. Unless you have in your possesion something valuable. But if you do, you'd be wise not to show it to me. Nothing scares me! I've lived too long and seen too much. I've learned not to underestimate my own abilities! Although you may say it's in my blood. I value Curage and Strength ahead of any other abilities. I'm as headstrong as an ox!Actually I once gave an ox a mighty concussion using only my own head. But don't misstake me for a brute. I'm as clever as an Elf! Actually, I'm quite a lot smarter than an Elf! Those damn Elves, they think they're so smart! Hah, no Elf has ever outsmarted me!!

-Eiykur the Hammerstrong

Description of Eiykur: (Gillipig's comments)

Hair: I have thick long red hair along with a matching but even thicker and longer beard and mustache.Height: I'm 5 feet tall. (very tall for his race)Weight: 300 pounds of pure strength! (Along with some fat. Especially around the midsection.)Age: 120 years young. (old)Eyes: They are brown.Build: I'm stocky! (he is)Scars: I have too many to count, but only one on my face. On the right side, lower jaw. Some Goblin got in a lucky hit. I still gutted him though!Habits: I drink a lot of mead. Like all dwarfs. It helps me get rattled up for battle!

Eiykur's history:

He grew up in a mining society deep underground collectively called "Hammercleft". It's one of the largest dwarven societies in Yrth. Not one of the oldest, the ore mine is relatively young and the society prospers to this day. At the age of ten he had his first experience of battle. He bested an Orc who had strayed too far into the dwarven mine camp in a fist fight. The fight lasted roughly two seconds. Eiykur caved the Orc's skull in with a might blow straight away.

The following thirty years he alternated digging in the mines and helping the others clear out Orc hideouts around the dwarven mines, with the occasional drunken fist fight with his fellow dwarves. Life was good and he enjoyed much respect amongs the other dwarves. Then one day while mining, he fell down a small hole. (well he still got through it so it couldn't have been that small really.)He fell for several minutes, deep down to the lowest regions of Yrth. Where he finally felt ground under his feet. He had stumbled upon an ancient Dragon nest. Burried deep under ground, connected to a hidden and previously unknown path to the surface. As he stumbled around the dark and inhospitable hall of the Dragon Dor (get the CC connection please ) the hall all of a sudden lit up, by a thousand torches. Eiykur started postulating what had caused this event, but stopped when he laid his eyes upon the enormous pile of gold and treasure that was now visible. Delirious he screamed out his joy. Not thinking twice what that might do. He ran towards the gold pile, threw his pickaxe to the ground and let the gold coins run through his fingers. -This is magnificent! he said out loud. Suddenly he heard a deep growling behind him that could only come from one creature. He slowly turned around and not more than fifteen meters in front of him there stood a Dragon, on it's feet ready to toast him with it's breath. Eiykur jumped to the side and grabbed his pickaxe. The dragon's flame missed him entirely and he managed to disappear from the dragons sight.While the dragon searched for his whereabouts, Eiykur climbed onto it's back, and whacked the pickaxe straight into it's left eyeball. In terrible pain the dragon reacted instinctively and flew upwards. It continued flying up into the large tunnel that leads to the surface. Eiykur held on for dear life with the pickaxe still solidly burrowed in the dragons eye socket. Until finally it reached the surface. Eyikur threw himself off the dragon and ran as fast as he could (which was not very fast), but the dragon did not pursue him. It had had enough of Dwarves for now.

When Eiykur told his amazing story to the rest of the dwarven community, they did not believe him. Eiykur was not known for lying but it sounded a bit too unrealistic to be true. Especially since many had seen him going to the mines drunk that day. They claimed he had dreamt it. No one would dare to suggest he was lying as that would be a sure death sentence. (his abilities in battle was well known)Furious with his fellow dwarves he left the Hammercleft mine that day and has not returned since. The times are many, when he's wished he could set eyes upon the halls of Hammercleft again. But his sense of pride was too strong, and he had heard rumors of that he's become a bit of a running joke there as of lately. Since that day he's been wandering the lower regions of Yrth looking for adventures. He's found many so far, but a Dwarf is not easily satified.

Languages:Just dwarven! He hasn't learned any new language despite all of his travels. Says a lot about his character .

Advantages:Damage Resistance 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3] [Racial] Extended Lifespan 1 [2] [Racial] Resistant to Poison (+3) [5] [Racial] +5 that I added myself (not racial advantage)Signature Gear [1] [Racial] An immensely large dubble-edged and dubbelhanded war axe. Can be used to dispatch several enemies in one sweep as well as demolishing doors, or even walls for that matter. Not good against quick and agile opponents. If Eiykur was a weapon, he'd be this axe !Combat Reflexes [15]Daredevil [15]Fearlessness Level 7 [14]Hard to Kill Level 7 [14]High Pain Threshold

Quirks:Has a problem going from a seated position to standing up. [-1]Wants to see everything with his own eyes. [-1]Can't see his own limitations. Even those that are very obvious. [-1]Often gets taken less serious because of his weight. [-1]Easy to deceive through flattery. [-1]

One thing on DX - if you plan to be a fighter, don't take it below 10, unless it's a racial modifier, and even then, it's not a good idea. Anything lower than 8 is definitely problematic. At DX 4, he'd have trouble doing even basic tasks.

Most physical skills depend on DX.

For an example, take Axe. It's a DX/Average skill, so 2 points gives you a skill level equal to your DX. Note, if you have Axe-10, you'll be succeeding 50% of the time. That's pretty low, so you want to get your primary weapon skill up to about 14 at least, if you're primarily a fighter.

Bio: Gamaliel was born third of five children to Duchess (then countess) Dominick, and an adventurer or some renown through matrilineal marriage. The Duchess was seen as a very hands on ruler with very little time not spent on her lands or plotting to acquire neighboring lands, even her eldest son and eldest daughter were mentored as heirs and warriors by their father, the youngest two given as fosterlings to forge alliances, so it came as some surprise Gamaliel was personally tutored by her.

This, Like every other actions orchestrated by the Duchess, was a grab for more power. Secretly the reason for her success was her practice of the dark arts, Her father, the previous count, and all his heirs were done in by curses mimicking illness, rebels and criminals were carried away into the night by summoned demons, and even many of the barons under her were either cultists or supernaturally controlled.

Gamliel was the child most predispositioned to magic, and the only family member savvy to the duchesses secret heresy, he inherited, not only her powers, but her treachery, thus she wisely never taught him any of the darkest spells that would allow him to usurp her. Public (and his own) speculation placed him as heir apparent, and he planned accordingly. His mother was this as plans to overthrow her, and thusly arranged for him to be betrothed to a Caithness baron's daughter in exchange for a magic book, sending him far from where he could do damage.

This infuriated and disgusted Gamliel; why should he have to consort with someone below his station? Why should he have to share a bed, power, a LIFE with someone else? Why produce an heir, why should he die?

Instead, he opted for the only escape he saw, he publically announced he would join the church, if there was only thing his mother could not afford, it was a blow to her apparent piety, so there was no objection. He became a priest in the white magics, hiding his proficiency in the dark arts.

This was a path that disqualified him as an heir, but he knew that the church's crackdowns were becoming harsher, to maintain power they needed control, that meant more Bishoprics would be created, holy campaigns would be waged, piety would potentially be a more important factor than lineage, and his station should keep him safe from any inquisitions, or hopefully even allow him opportunities to take part in them, claiming arcane artifacts for himself!